I was taking to a friend who told me about how some of her neighbours believe that the whole Malala affair was a conspiracy set up by the UK and America, to make the Taliban look bad.
When she told me I was so shocked and thought the entire concept was ridiculous and stupid.
But she actually thinks that there is a slight chance of it being true. She even went as far as telling me that I was too naive to believe the media.
So I went home and googled it and found all these articles with similar ideas. Apparently a lot of people in Pakistan do not believe it at all. One even said that she (let's remember she's a young girl) is a spy for America and was shot by an american agency to make the Taliban appear evil (like they need a reason)
I still think it's ridiculous, but it would be interesting to see what other people think?

(Original post by helpmemedic)
I was taking to a friend who told me about how some of her neighbours believe that the whole Malala affair was a conspiracy set up by the UK and America, to make the Taliban look bad.
When she told me I was so shocked and thought the entire concept was ridiculous and stupid.
But she actually thinks that there is a slight chance of it being true. She even went as far as telling me that I was too naive to believe the media.
So I went home and googled it and found all these articles with similar ideas. Apparently a lot of people in Pakistan do not believe it at all. One even said that she (let's remember she's a young girl) is a spy for America and was shot by an american agency to make the Taliban appear evil (like they need a reason)
I still think it's ridiculous, but it would be interesting to see what other people think?

The whole point of conspiracy theories is that they tend to involve the suspension of belief in rationality and the idea of (unproven) "hidden forces" that are confusing you. If you are the kind of person who thinks that the UK needs to orchestrate a vast conspiracy to delegitimise the Taleban then you'll have no trouble believing this, just as the lunatic 9/11 "truthers" truly believe that they have stumbled upon something massive that they, annoyingly, feel they have to tell the world about.

Seems pretty idiotic to believe in a conspiracy theory like that. Whilst the event has been used to a large degree by the West I very much doubt they'd fake something like this. What point would there be in drumming up anti Taliban sentiment (as if you need to) when we are leaving Afghanistan by next year?

Where such a theory might come from could be the Taliban? Discredit the heroic girl who stood up to them? Make her look like a traitor or a pawn of the US. The simple answer is she was not a spy. She is the young daughter of a village family who bravely raised her head above the parapet of safety to promote women's right to education - and she got a bullet in the head and not much support from her own villagers, who it seems, lack the foresight and courage of the young girl. To get into all the conspiracy stuff, in my view, is a fruitless exercise and an insult to Malala and the selfless things she did.

Malala has had more media attention than all the drone victims (at the hands of the US regime) combined. A fact which is overlooked deliberately by many. Before someone says ''most of the drone victims are Taliban members'', I suggest you read the report that states 49/50 drone victims are civilians.

(Original post by sabre2th1)
Malala has had more media attention than all the drone victims (at the hands of the US regime) combined. A fact which is overlooked deliberately by many. Before someone says ''most of the drone victims are Taliban members'', I suggest you read the report that states 49/50 drone victims are civilians.

If I'm honest I'm not sure why the lack of comment over drone victims matters in relation (key bit) to this event. I don't think drone victims should be used to somehow downplay this girl being shot or what she was fighting for. That's not to say its not shocking the silence or at least lack of open discussion about drone strikes.

(Original post by Aj12)
If I'm honest I'm not sure why the lack of comment over drone victims matters in relation (key bit) to this event. I don't think drone victims should be used to somehow downplay this girl being shot or what she was fighting for. That's not to say its not shocking the silence or at least lack of open discussion about drone strikes.

Also, I am pretty sure the Taliban didn't target her for promoting women's education. They targeted her for ''promoting secularism'' (not that I agree with the actions of the Taliban), just thought I'd set the record straight.